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Monday, 1 October 2012

Soligenix's dog study for OrbeShield radiation drug to be presented at Radiation Research meeting in Puerto Rico

Soligenix (OTCQB: SNGX) said today that results of an animal study of its OrbeShield drug will be presented at a poster session during the 58th annual meeting of the Radiation Research Society.

The event will be held in San Juan, Puerto Rico from September 30, to October 3.

In the recently completed study in canines, "statistically significant survival" was seen in dogs that received OrbeShield therapy starting both 2 and 24 hours following exposure to total body irradiation (TBI).

The company said the program was designed to simulate real world scenarios, in which people exposed to various levels of radiation would not be able to reach care centres immediately after a nuclear event.

In the study, untreated dogs died at a median time of 8 days when exposed to high dose radiation of 10-12 Gray (Gy), even if the dogs were given intensive supportive care such as antibiotics, intravenous fluids and anti-emetics.

Transplant of autologous bone marrow cells also had no effect on the rate of death of the exposed animals, Soligenix said.

During the observation period, the company said the survival of dogs was "strongly correlated to the recovery from acute radiation damage to the GI tract."

The studies were conducted by George E. Georges, MD, at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) under a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) funded grant.

The OrbeShield program is also the subject of a new $600,000 NIAID Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant.

Gastrointestinal acute radiation syndrome is a potentially life-threatening consequence of exposure to high doses of radiation following a serious nuclear event.

There is currently no effective therapy approved for the treatment of the condition.

OrbeShield contains BDP, a highly potent, topically active corticosteroid that has a local effect on inflamed tissue. The treatment is formulated for oral administration.

BDP has been marketed in the United States and worldwide since the early 1970s as the active pharmaceutical ingredient in inhalation products for patients with allergic rhinitis and asthma.